People in Fundraising: A Nonprofit Podcast by Tim Wilson

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 11: Rich Horne, Vassar College, New York

After 10 episodes featuring frontline fundraisers, prospect management and research gets its turn in the "People in Fundraising" spotlight! Rich Horne joins us from Vassar College in New York State, where he is the Director of Prospect Development & Research. I appreciated Rich's eagerness to be a guest on our program; our interview was held less than two weeks after I invited him on.
Rich excitingly talks about top-level strategy making in a multi-hospital environment, prospect management in higher ed and healthcare, and research in higher ed and healthcare.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 10: Jessica McNeill, Harvard Business School

HBS Assistant Director of Reunion & Leadership Giving Jessica McNeill joins us from her office in Boston. She discusses the challenges of engaging with alumni in the pandemic era, where so many previously in-person touchpoints went all virtual. Jessica also shares her desire to increase engagement with black alumni; her work with the HBS Dean's Anti-Racism Task Force; and challenges women of color experience in the philanthropy world.
 
Jessica highlights the impact and importance of her involvement with Women in Development and the Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC). She is a rising star in fundraising, and I am honored to have welcomed Jessica as our next guest! She is an alum of Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which is podcast host Tim Wilson's home town - and his father's employer for the last several decades.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 9: Marla Habert, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin

A decade into her nonprofit career, Wisconsin native Marla Habert has worked in her home state and in the Boston area, in both higher education and healthcare. That range of experience and successive leadership roles are reasons I was excited to welcome Marla to our podcast series. 
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Marla and I left Harvard Business School on almost the exact same day in 2018 - and our going-away parties were one day apart! She recounts returning to Milwaukee and the benefit of knowing the community and its needs as she manages a team of gift officers at Froedtert (Fray-dert) and the Medical College of Wisconsin. In our wide-ranging chat, Marla touches on resources, managing teams, the grind of fundraising, and working toward her goal as a young professional "to lead an organization that is meaningful to me." She is well on her way! 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 8: Serenity Belo, NeighborWorks Housing Solutions

In our first webcast spotlighting an organization outside of education and healthcare, Neighbor-Works Housing Solutions' Serenity Belo does a magnificent job articulating its mission of "opening doors, changing lives."
 
Serenity describes how the past two years of the pandemic have been challenging for human services, yet she also excitedly shares specific community improvement and minority-owned business initiatives in Brockton, MA. Serenity's interview is fascinating for people in nonprofits for many reasons, including how she must build relationships in an environment that does not have grateful patients or alumni.  
 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 7: Rachel Fournier, American Cancer Society, New Jersey

Talking with Rachel Fournier, a friend of mine since our high school days, was a delight! It was fun to reminisce about our younger years and our time at UMass-Amherst, and Rachel caught me and our listeners up on how her career began. She describes how her longtime involvement with Girl Scouts stirred a desire to help her community.
 
From there, Rachel shares how marriage, relocations, and raising young children influenced career decisions. Years later, a cancer diagnosis led to obvious and necessary changes in Rachel's family and work. She movingly describes the impact cancer has had on her life and how it infuses her work and the connections she makes with patients. I am grateful to know Rachel for most of my life, and grateful to have this conversation with a dear friend. 
Please note: Rachel sadly lost her 7-year battle with metastatic breast cancer in the summer of 2023. Capturing her voice in this moment in her life was an honor, and more so an honor to have had a friend like Rachel in my life. 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 6: Evan Gallivan, Rhode Island School of Design

A long-held goal to understand the "big picture" of fundraising from many perspectives has helped lead Evan to have a fascinating career. From the annual fund to donor relations, Operations, Strategy, staff management, and campaign planning, Evan has crafted a richly diverse resume in higher education, small-shop colleges, and now at one of the leading art and design institutions in the country.
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Evan shares with us the emphasis he has placed on understanding and staying true to what brings him joy and what excites him in education fundraising. He has applied the workings of an executive coach to help Evan find what he loves to do and keep pursuing it. 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep.5: Lauren McLellan, Harvard Business School

Lauren shares her experience as a full-time fundraiser for Harvard Business School who, unexpectedly, hit pause on her career when her second pregnancy included not one but two babies. She talks about prioritizing raising her young family of three kids and sensing when the time would be right to return to philanthropy in some capacity. Mentors who helped Lauren enter the field were there for her again when she and her family felt full-time work would suit them.
With gratitude and reflection, Lauren details how the philanthropy of others personally impacted her life. "Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody other people be somebody" and "Believe in/Be the Good in the World" are two philosophies that Lauren often uses to guide her engagement with donors, co-workers, and friends.
Lauren's concluding message really resonates: "Don't undersell yourself in the value you bring to relationships with your colleagues."

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 4: Roger Fussa, Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Massachusetts

Roger joins our podcast from his office at in-dependent school BB&N. As he relates in our interview, Roger enjoys listening to (and occasionally turning up the volume on) all sorts of music at work- Rolling Stones, the blues, Sound of Music, etc.! His musical tastes are as varied and dynamic as his career path has been. He recounts working in frontline fundraising, digital marketing and writing, alumni relations, and planned giving at several leading East Coast institutions over the last two decades.

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 3: Courtney Desmarais, Amherst College

Courtney joins our podcast from her Amherst College office (complete with a fireplace!) to engagingly discuss the "bread crumbs" that she has strategically followed in her career. From art school and teaching to special projects, then frontline fundraising, managing gift officers, and overseeing advancement services and donor relations at leading higher education institutions, Courtney brings a wealth of experience to her profession and her relatively new role at scenic Amherst College. 

People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 2: Danielle Marzelli, Intermountain Health

In this podcast interview, Danielle excitedly shares how she brings her passion for connecting people to causes  over her first decade in fundraising.